Things Remembered
by Steve West on October 2, 2021
When I was in kindergarten, a girl brought a doll to class. It was so pretty that even the boys liked it. Everyone played with it but I was the one who broke it. She cried, of course, and I promised to get her a similar one. I asked my parents to get it for me for my birthday instead of the thing I had asked for. They agreed and thought it was a good idea. I gave it to her on my birthday. Her joy was the best payoff I could have received. At dinner, my dad gave me my own present. He said I had done the right thing and was proud of me.
One Reply to Things Remembered
Web Junkie
Steve West scours the Web searching for interest or absurdity and then shakes his head ruefully when he finds it. Read more »
Schadenfreude
Is it wrong to laugh at goofy-looking mugshots? Probably on some level. I mean, the circumstances that led to these photographs being taken had to be well, criminal. Go »Oscars 2012
Now that I can make no further changes to my picks, I'd like to hear about the categories people wrestled with most. I struggled most with costume, documentary and even adapted screenplay. Goodl luck everyone! Go »When Fabio Meets Scatological Humor
Mark Longmire hosts an eclectic website. My favorite section is where he re-titles romance novels and photoshops the new title on the cover. Hilarity ensues. Go »Me and Al Bundy
Recently, Brenda made the mistake of asking me to fix the toilet. It seemed to have gunk in the thingy that supplies the water and would only filll if I poked it with a paper clip in the spout thingy. You can tell I'm a semi-professional because of all the technical jargon. Go »Farewell, My Brother
Brenda's brother, Scott, was in a motorcycle accident yesterday and without knowing any details of the accident, I do know that he was killed. I loved him very much and I know he loved me back. I wrote this simple tribute to him that I was forced to end because I couldn't stop crying. Go »
Scott Hardie | October 7, 2021
That's a great story, Steve. Good on you.
If i may hijack your blog post with a story that's not so great, I've been haunted all of my life by a similar opportunity where I made the selfish choice.
When I was maybe 3, all of the neighborhood kids got invitations to a birthday party. My mother took me to the bookstore to pick out a gift, and we settled on a children's storybook about an anthropomorphized owl who delivers mail (long before Harry Potter). It came with a little toy figurine of the owl in his postal uniform, attached to the back of the book via netting made of thin cloth mesh.
I read the book, I liked the book, I wanted the book for myself, I wanted to play with the toy... I think you can see where this is going. My mother couldn't take me back to the store to buy one for me too, but I was just so desperate to play with the owl that I ripped open the netting and played with the owl and lost it. My mother didn't find out until she went to wrap it just before the party. I got a stern talking-to about things that are not mine no matter how much I want them, and then I had to hand-deliver the present with the ripped netting and missing toy.
I can't remember if i apologized to the birthday kid, but it's been decades and I have never stopped feeling guilty about it.